1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle identification methods. More particularly, the invention relates to a system, method, computer program, and business form that may be used to more quickly, accurately and efficiently label, identify, and track vehicles and other objects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Auto dealers spend a considerable amount of time and money receiving, preparing, and inventorying new and used vehicles. Although these efforts are necessary, they distract dealers from focusing on revenue-generating activities such as selling the vehicles and servicing them after their sale.
Many auto dealers manage their inventory of vehicles using mostly manual methods. When a vehicle arrives on a dealer's lot, the dealer extracts information, such as the vehicle's identification number (VIN), from a manufacturer-provided window sticker adhered to the vehicle. The extracted information is then added to one or more lists containing vehicle information for all vehicles on the dealer's lot. The dealer then periodically inventories the vehicles on its lots by comparing the VINs on the window stickers to the vehicle lists to ensure that all vehicles on the lists are accounted for. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that these steps are time-consuming, costly, and not entirely accurate because employees sometimes read and/or write down the wrong VIN when adding a vehicle to inventory or while verifying the existence of vehicles already in inventory. Moreover, vehicles are often being test driven, serviced, or driven by employees and therefore absent or located in the wrong place during an inventorying procedure, resulting in incomplete or inaccurate inventory results.
The above-described problems are even more pronounced for previously-owned vehicles because such vehicles typically do not arrive on the dealer's lot with a window sticker containing information about the vehicle such as the VIN, make, model, price, etc. Because such information is needed to track and sell the vehicles, most dealers print and apply their own window stickers to previously-owned vehicles. To do so, the dealers must first obtain all necessary information to be printed on the window stickers, some of which, such as factory-installed options, dealer-installed options, price, warranties, etc., are not readily apparent from a quick inspection of the vehicle. Obtaining much of this information therefore currently requires both a thorough inspection of the vehicle and reference to a source of used vehicle prices and features, such as a Kelly Blue Book. The gathered information must then be manually entered into a computer so that it may be printed on a window sticker or hand-written directly on the window sticker. Because these steps require one or more persons to transfer several pieces of information from several difference sources, they are time-consuming, costly and prone to human error.
Another limitation of existing vehicle inventorying methods is the difficulty in identifying and tracking vehicle keys. Because auto dealers sometimes have hundreds of new and used vehicles on their lots, each having at least one set of keys, the identification, marking, and tracking of keys is critical to their operations. Most auto dealers attach keys to key tags on which identifying information is printed. For example, a key tag may list a vehicle's VIN, make, and model so that the keys may be easily associated with the proper vehicle. This information is typically obtained by a visual inspection of the vehicle when it arrives at the dealer's lot and is then printed on the key tags by hand. As with creating window stickers for used vehicles, these steps are time-consuming, costly and prone to human error. Moreover, the information hand-written on the key tags often becomes smudged and difficult to read as the keys are repeatedly handled by dealers and potential customers.
Another limitation of existing vehicle inventorying methods is that sales people often have difficulty locating a particular vehicle on a dealer's lot when they desire to show the vehicle to a prospective customer. As mentioned above, vehicles are frequently test driven, serviced, or driven by employees and therefore moved from place to place on a dealer's lot and elsewhere. Currently, no cost-effective method exists to track the current location of all vehicles on a dealer's lot.